Expelled movie review

"We are losing freedom in one of the most important sectors of society: science," Ben Stein tells us in "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," his documentary on the war between Darwinism (Evolution) and Intelligent Design. He then shows us clips from interviews he had with prominent scientists and one neuro-surgeon who had been cut loose from the scientific community simply because they had dared to question the theory of Evolution in public. "I was viewed as an intellectual terrorist," one scientist told Ben. His act of terrorism? He had published an article by Dr. Steven Meyer, a well-known supporter of Intelligent Design (ID). The other interview clips go by fairly quickly, each one ending with an "Expelled" stamp on a "rap sheet."

Ben goes on a journey that spans from Seattle to Germany, covering Biola University, Paris, and other places. Along the way, we learn some interesting scientific facts that the public school textbooks don't tell us, such as the Miller Experiment being a failure. Ben also goes to Germany when he's told that Charles Darwin's theory influenced Hitler's "final solution." We're introduced to Eugenics, which is still around under the name of Planned Parenthood.

Ben's message is not "Get rid of Evolution and replace it with Intelligent Design." It's more along the lines of "Let both sides of the Evolution/ID debate be heard." The side Ben picks is obvious as the documentary progresses. Still, he has a point. If both sides were equally heard, people could discuss both sides rationally instead of just one side pushing the other side out the door and locking it out of public institutions.